'Abusive' partner attacked ex-girlfriend - trial

A man accused of driving his partner to take her own life through domestic abuse had assaulted a previous girlfriend after losing his temper, a court has heard.

Ryan Wellings, 30, denies the manslaughter of Kiena Dawes who left a note before her death reading: "I was murdered. Ryan Wellings killed me."

The 23-year-old, of Fleetwood in Lancashire, left her young daughter with a friend before taking her own life on a railway line on 22 July 2022.

Mr Wellings told Preston Crown Court he had taken a "lot of drugs" and drank a "lot of alcohol" before he assaulted his former girlfriend in 2019.

The court heard he had admitted an offence of battery following the incident, during which he also damaged her car and tried to hit his father.

When he was arrested, the jury heard he told the officer: "It's all kicked off. I've been at a party and taken loads of coke. I have a problem."

Mr Wellings, of Bispham, Lancashire, also admitted having punched a friend after a night out in August 2023, the court heard.

He said: "I did because he was belittling me in front of my friends."

The court heard that he pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm earlier this year.

Mr Wellings told the jury he had post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and had tried to take his own life on five previous occasions.

He said: "I had children and I couldn't stop taking drugs and it made me want to kill myself."

He said he would take around £400 worth of cocaine, or 20 bags, in binges.

Mr Wellings is also accused of assault and coercive and controlling behaviour between January 2020 and July 2022, which he denies.

Honorary Recorder of Preston Judge Robert Altham told the jury it would have to decide whether the previous convictions proved Mr Wellings had the propensity to commit acts of violence.

He met Miss Dawes, a hairdresser, in January 2020 and she was "swept off her feet", her mother previously told the court.

Mr Wellings had her name and face tattooed on his body just a week later and proposed marriage within three months.

The trial continues.

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